2010 e-tailing Group and PowerReviews Social Shopping Study Reveals Trends Shaping the Future of Ecommerce

Study Shows Customer Reviews are Foundational Element of Social Commerce Strategy; Points to Evolving Importance of Facebook in Online Shopping

CHICAGO & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The e-tailing group and PowerReviews today release the 2010 Social Shopping Study’s final wave of findings. The study asked more than 1,000 consumers who shop at least four times per year and spend $250 or more annually online how social media impacts their buying decisions. The data clearly points to three key social shopping trends that will shape the future of Ecommerce.

“The ever-evolving importance of social is certain to grow exponentially from a shopping perspective given that it’s still so early in the game.”

Trend #1: Consumers trust the basic social media tools -- When asked which community and social media tools have the greatest impact on buying behavior, 71 percent of respondents rated user-generated customer reviews as having the highest “good to significant impact” on buying behavior, followed closely by Q&A (57 percent) and community forums (47 percent). In addition, compared to 2007, shoppers are reading more customer reviews to be confident judging a product, with consumers reading 8 or more up 77 percent over 2007 and 16 or more up 140 percent.

Trend #2: Consumers seek a variety of voices -- Further authenticating the growing importance of social media in the online shopping process, the study reveals that “friends” and like-minded consumers are more influential than experts. When asked which online voices have the greatest influence on purchase decisions, 55 percent cited Facebook “friends,” while another 55 percent noted “people like you” (55 percent) as having the greatest impact. Experts (51 percent); brands (38 percent), retailers (35 percent) and influential bloggers (26 percent) followed.

Trend #3: Facebook is the social platform with the greatest potential -- While the role of social media sites in the online shopping decision-making process is still in its infancy, the study points to the growing importance of Facebook. After basic social shopping tools – including reviews, Q&A and forums – Facebook features show the most potential to impact buying behavior. 31 percent cite the Facebook wall (friends talking about products) as having significant influence over buying decisions, while another 25 percent note Facebook fan pages as most powerful. What’s more, the viral force of Facebook is considerable, as nearly half of respondents reported having upwards of 100 “friends,” while 42 percent of respondents frequently read and/or update their Facebook pages.

“Consumers are clearly in control of their shopping experiences and these findings provide valuable and practical lessons for retailers and brands to engage and benefit from the social conversation,” said Pehr Luedtke, CEO of PowerReviews. “Retailers and brands need to build the foundation for trust through the most important social tools: reviews, Q&A, and forums. They need to provide a collective voice by integrating a variety of perspectives, including Facebook friends and ‘people like you.’ And, as consumers’ expectations continue to rise, retailers and brands need to present the content in an easy-to-find and easy-to-consume way.”

Last month PowerReviews and the e-tailing group revealed research around how consumers are using social media to shop and interact with brands and retailers online. The study found that people strongly prefer to do their own research online versus speaking to a knowledgeable sales associate in-store. According to respondents, online research is preferred for three reasons: its ability to save time (79 percent report saving somewhat to much more time doing their own online research), increase confidence (83 percent are somewhat to much more confident about making a purchase decision when doing their own research) and provide credible information (82 percent are somewhat or very satisfied with product information available online).

“The findings of our social shopping study not only prove that people prefer to do their researching online vs. in-store. The supporting data also shows us that the retail industry and consumer expectations are at a fundamental and exciting crossroads,” said Lauren Freedman, president of the e-tailing group. “The ever-evolving importance of social is certain to grow exponentially from a shopping perspective given that it’s still so early in the game.”

About the e-tailing group

The e-tailing group, inc. serves as the multi-channel merchant’s eye, bringing a merchant’s sensibility to evolving the multi-channel shopping experience. A Chicago-based consultancy, they provide practical strategic perspectives and actionable merchandising solutions to merchants selling online as well as to enabling technology firms. For more background about this research study or additional information on the e-tailing group, inc. please contact Lauren Freedman at LF@e-tailing.com or visit the e-tailing group website www.e-tailing.com.

About PowerReviews

PowerReviews is the leading provider of customer reviews and social commerce solutions to retailers and brands. The company's innovative tag-based approach to collecting, organizing, structuring and analyzing user-generated content significantly boosts product sales and customer engagement. Recognized as the customer reviews Solution Leader in the Internet Retailer Top 500 survey, PowerReviews works with over 1000 retailers and brands on over 3000 websites, including Staples, Drugstore.com, Gardener’s Supply, Diapers.com, Callaway and Jockey. In addition to its Enterprise solution, PowerReviews offers an on-demand solution for small- and medium-sized businesses called PowerReviews Express (www.powerreviewsexpress.com). PowerReviews also operates the leading reviews and recommendation site for consumers, Buzzillions.com (www.buzzillions.com). PowerReviews blog is at www.blogs.powerreviews.com.

Gemalto Achieves Additional MasterCard Accreditation with Its Consulting Services

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, announced receiving MasterCard accreditation for its Gemalto Consulting Services. As the first digital security company to join the MasterCard M/Chip Accredited Third Party program, this accreditation officially endorses Gemalto’s consulting capabilities and its vendor-independent services in contact and contactless deployments worldwide.

“MasterCard is extremely pleased that Gemalto has met our stringent criteria”

Smart payment cards are widely deployed to reduce fraud and facilitate a more convenient payment experience. Gemalto’s consulting service is in particular designed to expedite the adoption of EMV and PayPass™ smart card programs, by delivering world-class migration guidance and technical expertise to acquirers and issuers. For this accreditation process, Gemalto consultants’ track record in supporting contact and contactless rollouts was evaluated against MasterCard’s requirements.

“MasterCard is extremely pleased that Gemalto has met our stringent criteria,” commented Christian Delporte, Head of Chip Engineering at MasterCard Worldwide. “The M/Chip Accredited Third Party program enables MasterCard to make high quality consulting available to its members. With Gemalto’s strong global presence, our members can benefit from knowledge sharing anywhere in the world.”

“The MasterCard endorsement is a strong vote of confidence in Gemalto’s consulting expertise,” added Philippe Cambriel, Executive Vice-President, Gemalto. “Key to attaining this accreditation was our proven track record from a decade of experience providing consulting services to over 130 institutions in 52 countries, and it recognized our ability to closely support our customers in successfully launching innovative products and services, and delivering on their promise of paying anytime anywhere.”

About MasterCard Worldwide

MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes approximately 22 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to www.mastercard.com.

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2009 annual revenues of €1.65 billion, and over 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, with research and service centers in 41 countries.

Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work—anytime, anywhere—has become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure.

Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM), Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (UICC) in mobile phones, smart banking cards, smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems and services to help our customers achieve their goals.

As the use of Gemalto’s software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.

For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.

Gemalto Achieves Additional MasterCard Accreditation with Its Consulting Services

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, announced receiving MasterCard accreditation for its Gemalto Consulting Services. As the first digital security company to join the MasterCard M/Chip Accredited Third Party program, this accreditation officially endorses Gemalto’s consulting capabilities and its vendor-independent services in contact and contactless deployments worldwide.

“MasterCard is extremely pleased that Gemalto has met our stringent criteria”

Smart payment cards are widely deployed to reduce fraud and facilitate a more convenient payment experience. Gemalto’s consulting service is in particular designed to expedite the adoption of EMV and PayPass™ smart card programs, by delivering world-class migration guidance and technical expertise to acquirers and issuers. For this accreditation process, Gemalto consultants’ track record in supporting contact and contactless rollouts was evaluated against MasterCard’s requirements.

“MasterCard is extremely pleased that Gemalto has met our stringent criteria,” commented Christian Delporte, Head of Chip Engineering at MasterCard Worldwide. “The M/Chip Accredited Third Party program enables MasterCard to make high quality consulting available to its members. With Gemalto’s strong global presence, our members can benefit from knowledge sharing anywhere in the world.”

“The MasterCard endorsement is a strong vote of confidence in Gemalto’s consulting expertise,” added Philippe Cambriel, Executive Vice-President, Gemalto. “Key to attaining this accreditation was our proven track record from a decade of experience providing consulting services to over 130 institutions in 52 countries, and it recognized our ability to closely support our customers in successfully launching innovative products and services, and delivering on their promise of paying anytime anywhere.”

About MasterCard Worldwide

MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes approximately 22 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to www.mastercard.com.

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2009 annual revenues of €1.65 billion, and over 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, with research and service centers in 41 countries.

Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work—anytime, anywhere—has become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure.

Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM), Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (UICC) in mobile phones, smart banking cards, smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems and services to help our customers achieve their goals.

As the use of Gemalto’s software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.

For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.

Newly Launched Online Store,ThePOSWarehouse.com

Image via CrunchBase

Offers Unprecedented Savings On Point Of Sale Software, Hardware, And Intuit Quickbooks Financial Management Solutions





The newly launched online storefront, ThePOSWarehouse.com, offers an online resource where business owners can shop and buy discounted point of sale software, hardware, and supplies as well as Intuit’s full line of QuickBooks financial management software.



Headquartered in Austin, TX (PRWEB) June 3, 2010 -- The newly launched online storefront, ThePOSWarehouse.com, offers an online resource where business owners can shop and buy discounted point of sale software, hardware, and supplies as well as Intuit’s full line of QuickBooks financial management software. A certified reseller of Intuit QuickBooks financial management software and Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale software, ThePOSWarehouse.com is part of the exclusive Intuit Solution Provider program and has access to special pricing, offers, and discounts on these products that are in turn passed on to its customers.



In addition to the products it sells, ThePOSWarehouse.com has certified specialists and Intuit Pro Advisors on staff to help answer questions, assist in the decision making process, aide in transitions and implementation as well as train end users in a variety of software applications.

“Our goal is to not only provide our customers with significant savings, but to be their trusted advisors,” said Marjorie Adams, President of ThePOSWarehouse.com. “From making recommendations on products and solutions that best fit their specific business requirements to assisting them with their financial questions, we are able to provide added benefit to our customers throughout the entire process.” ThePOSWarehouse.com’s certified specialists can be reached 7 days a week via toll free number 1-800-604-8980.



ThePOSWarehouse.com also offers entire retail point of sale systems from Intuit and Hewlett Packard that includes the Microsoft Windows based HP rp5700 computer system, flat screen and touch screen monitors, steel cash drawers, barcode scanners, receipt printers, credit card readers, and the choice of either Intuit QuickBooks Cash Register Plus, Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale Basic, Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale Pro, or Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale Multi-Store. The system is delivered to the customer with the chosen software pre-loaded and ready for business. Other industry specific and product type bundles are available with additional discounts.



ThePOSWarehouse.com offers products that cover a broad range of industries and have solutions that fit most small and medium sized businesses. It currently resells AccuPOS point of sale software and hardware that is designed for restaurants and bars, and while Intuit QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise Solutions software can be customized to fit just about any industry, there are also specialized editions for retail, nonprofits, professional services, manufacturing, and contractors.



“Searching for the right business software can be confusing, which is why we have trained experts on staff to help our customers through that process,” said Adams. “Often businesses just need to upgrade their current programs or expand their software.” ThePOSWarehouse.com also sells upgrades and additional licenses for Intuit QuickBooks point of sale software and Intuit QuickBooks financial management software.



Additional products available at ThePOSWarehouse.com include tag printers, pin pads, pole displays, receipt paper, barcode labels, tags, and other point of sale hardware and supplies.



About ThePOSWarehouse.com

ThePOSWarehouse.com, headquartered in Austin, TX, is an Intuit Solution Provider & Authorized Reseller. With Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale and QuickBooks financial management software at its core, ThePOSWarehouse.com is able to provide the professional business management solution and technology consulting services a growing business needs. Get help with finding, implementing and optimizing the right solution for your business. Buy Intuit QuickBooks point of sale software, hardware, systems, supplies and Intuit QuickBooks accounting software securely online at www.theposwarehouse.com or over the phone by calling toll free 1-800-604-8980.



About Intuit Inc. 

Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. The company’s financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.



Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.2 billion in its fiscal year 2009. The company has approximately 7,800 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found atwww.intuit.com.

###

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Newly Launched Online Store,ThePOSWarehouse.com

Image via CrunchBase

Offers Unprecedented Savings On Point Of Sale Software, Hardware, And Intuit Quickbooks Financial Management Solutions





The newly launched online storefront, ThePOSWarehouse.com, offers an online resource where business owners can shop and buy discounted point of sale software, hardware, and supplies as well as Intuit’s full line of QuickBooks financial management software.



Headquartered in Austin, TX (PRWEB) June 3, 2010 -- The newly launched online storefront, ThePOSWarehouse.com, offers an online resource where business owners can shop and buy discounted point of sale software, hardware, and supplies as well as Intuit’s full line of QuickBooks financial management software. A certified reseller of Intuit QuickBooks financial management software and Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale software, ThePOSWarehouse.com is part of the exclusive Intuit Solution Provider program and has access to special pricing, offers, and discounts on these products that are in turn passed on to its customers.



In addition to the products it sells, ThePOSWarehouse.com has certified specialists and Intuit Pro Advisors on staff to help answer questions, assist in the decision making process, aide in transitions and implementation as well as train end users in a variety of software applications.

“Our goal is to not only provide our customers with significant savings, but to be their trusted advisors,” said Marjorie Adams, President of ThePOSWarehouse.com. “From making recommendations on products and solutions that best fit their specific business requirements to assisting them with their financial questions, we are able to provide added benefit to our customers throughout the entire process.” ThePOSWarehouse.com’s certified specialists can be reached 7 days a week via toll free number 1-800-604-8980.



ThePOSWarehouse.com also offers entire retail point of sale systems from Intuit and Hewlett Packard that includes the Microsoft Windows based HP rp5700 computer system, flat screen and touch screen monitors, steel cash drawers, barcode scanners, receipt printers, credit card readers, and the choice of either Intuit QuickBooks Cash Register Plus, Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale Basic, Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale Pro, or Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale Multi-Store. The system is delivered to the customer with the chosen software pre-loaded and ready for business. Other industry specific and product type bundles are available with additional discounts.



ThePOSWarehouse.com offers products that cover a broad range of industries and have solutions that fit most small and medium sized businesses. It currently resells AccuPOS point of sale software and hardware that is designed for restaurants and bars, and while Intuit QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise Solutions software can be customized to fit just about any industry, there are also specialized editions for retail, nonprofits, professional services, manufacturing, and contractors.



“Searching for the right business software can be confusing, which is why we have trained experts on staff to help our customers through that process,” said Adams. “Often businesses just need to upgrade their current programs or expand their software.” ThePOSWarehouse.com also sells upgrades and additional licenses for Intuit QuickBooks point of sale software and Intuit QuickBooks financial management software.



Additional products available at ThePOSWarehouse.com include tag printers, pin pads, pole displays, receipt paper, barcode labels, tags, and other point of sale hardware and supplies.



About ThePOSWarehouse.com

ThePOSWarehouse.com, headquartered in Austin, TX, is an Intuit Solution Provider & Authorized Reseller. With Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale and QuickBooks financial management software at its core, ThePOSWarehouse.com is able to provide the professional business management solution and technology consulting services a growing business needs. Get help with finding, implementing and optimizing the right solution for your business. Buy Intuit QuickBooks point of sale software, hardware, systems, supplies and Intuit QuickBooks accounting software securely online at www.theposwarehouse.com or over the phone by calling toll free 1-800-604-8980.



About Intuit Inc. 

Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. The company’s financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.



Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.2 billion in its fiscal year 2009. The company has approximately 7,800 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found atwww.intuit.com.

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RSA and Check Point Team Up To Offer Consumers Enhanced Protection Against Online Attacks

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Check Point Leverages Real-time Threat Intelligence from RSA FraudAction™ Anti-Trojan and Anti-Phishing Services for Increased Protection

BEDFORD, Mass., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- RSA, The Security Division of EMC (NYSE: EMC) announced a technology agreement with Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, to provide consumers around the globe with enhanced, real-time protection against Trojan, phishing and other online attacks.

RSA is supplying real-time online threat intelligence feeds from its RSA FraudAction^™ Anti-Trojan and Anti-Phishing services to Check Point's solutions. This new capacity is integrated into the existing anti-phishing functionality available in all ZoneAlarmpremium consumer products including ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite and ZoneAlarm Extreme Security to provide consumers world-wide with enhanced and proactive protection against online attacks.

"Leveraging external threat information from RSA enables Check Point to strengthen its detection and analysis capabilities and offer superior protection to our customers," said Bari Abdul, vice president of consumer sales, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. "The implementation of anti-Trojan filtering and identity theft protection helps address some of the key customer needs and pain points. We are pleased to add RSA to our list of technology partners as we work together to provide customers with strong levels of protection."

RSA FraudAction solution is a 24x7 service designed to detect, track, block, and shut down phishing, pharming and Trojan attacks perpetrated by online fraudsters. It has shut down more than 300,000 illicit web sites across 140 countries to date. RSA's online fraud analysts operate from the RSA^® Anti-Fraud Command Center to shut down hosted online attacks, deploy countermeasures, and conduct extensive forensic work to reduce the average lifetime of an online attack. RSA FraudAction service is a component of the RSA Identity Protection and Verification Suite, one of the most complete and innovative Software-as-a-Service portfolios of strong authentication and anti-fraud technologies.

"Our relationship with Check Point is another example that inventive collaboration between industry leaders can expand our collective abilities to protect consumers against ever-evolving online threats. This brings more value to our users by integrating real-time detection and blocking capabilities on a wider scale," said Christopher Young, Senior Vice President, Technology, Products and Markets at RSA. "Together, we can grow an even stronger security ecosystem in order to become a more effective and organized entity against the vast underground network of fraudsters."

About RSA

RSA, The Security Division of EMC, is the premier provider of security solutions for business acceleration, helping the world's leading organizations succeed by solving their most complex and sensitive security challenges. RSA's information-centric approach to security guards the integrity and confidentiality of information throughout its lifecycle – no matter where it moves, who accesses it or how it is used.

RSA offers industry-leading solutions in identity assurance & access control, data loss prevention, encryption & key management, compliance & security information management and fraud protection. These solutions bring trust to millions of user identities, the transactions that they perform, and the data that is generated. For more information, please visitwww.RSA.com and www.EMC.com.

EMC, FraudAction and RSA are either registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation. All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

SOURCE EMC Corporation

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RSA and Check Point Team Up To Offer Consumers Enhanced Protection Against Online Attacks

Image via Wikipedia

Check Point Leverages Real-time Threat Intelligence from RSA FraudAction™ Anti-Trojan and Anti-Phishing Services for Increased Protection

BEDFORD, Mass., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- RSA, The Security Division of EMC (NYSE: EMC) announced a technology agreement with Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, to provide consumers around the globe with enhanced, real-time protection against Trojan, phishing and other online attacks.

RSA is supplying real-time online threat intelligence feeds from its RSA FraudAction^™ Anti-Trojan and Anti-Phishing services to Check Point's solutions. This new capacity is integrated into the existing anti-phishing functionality available in all ZoneAlarmpremium consumer products including ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite and ZoneAlarm Extreme Security to provide consumers world-wide with enhanced and proactive protection against online attacks.

"Leveraging external threat information from RSA enables Check Point to strengthen its detection and analysis capabilities and offer superior protection to our customers," said Bari Abdul, vice president of consumer sales, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. "The implementation of anti-Trojan filtering and identity theft protection helps address some of the key customer needs and pain points. We are pleased to add RSA to our list of technology partners as we work together to provide customers with strong levels of protection."

RSA FraudAction solution is a 24x7 service designed to detect, track, block, and shut down phishing, pharming and Trojan attacks perpetrated by online fraudsters. It has shut down more than 300,000 illicit web sites across 140 countries to date. RSA's online fraud analysts operate from the RSA^® Anti-Fraud Command Center to shut down hosted online attacks, deploy countermeasures, and conduct extensive forensic work to reduce the average lifetime of an online attack. RSA FraudAction service is a component of the RSA Identity Protection and Verification Suite, one of the most complete and innovative Software-as-a-Service portfolios of strong authentication and anti-fraud technologies.

"Our relationship with Check Point is another example that inventive collaboration between industry leaders can expand our collective abilities to protect consumers against ever-evolving online threats. This brings more value to our users by integrating real-time detection and blocking capabilities on a wider scale," said Christopher Young, Senior Vice President, Technology, Products and Markets at RSA. "Together, we can grow an even stronger security ecosystem in order to become a more effective and organized entity against the vast underground network of fraudsters."

About RSA

RSA, The Security Division of EMC, is the premier provider of security solutions for business acceleration, helping the world's leading organizations succeed by solving their most complex and sensitive security challenges. RSA's information-centric approach to security guards the integrity and confidentiality of information throughout its lifecycle – no matter where it moves, who accesses it or how it is used.

RSA offers industry-leading solutions in identity assurance & access control, data loss prevention, encryption & key management, compliance & security information management and fraud protection. These solutions bring trust to millions of user identities, the transactions that they perform, and the data that is generated. For more information, please visitwww.RSA.com and www.EMC.com.

EMC, FraudAction and RSA are either registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation. All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

SOURCE EMC Corporation

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Jack Henry & Associates and iPay Technologies Complete Acquisition Transaction

Acquisition of the Largest Independent U.S. Electronic Bill Pay Provider Continues Jack Henry & Associates' Strategic Expansion

MONETT, Mo., June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY), a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, today announced that it has closed the transaction initiated to acquire iPay Technologies, the largest independent electronic bill pay provider in the United States.  As a result of the acquisition, which was subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, iPay Technologies became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jack Henry & Associates.  Under the terms of the agreement, Jack Henry & Associates purchased all of the equity of iPay for a purchase price of approximately $300 million in cash.

Through strategic partnerships with more than 50 providers of information processing and online banking solutions, iPay's turnkey online bill pay services, technology, and expertise are supporting more than 3,600 banks and credit unions.  iPay partners with companies like Jack Henry & Associates to provide online bill payment solutions to financial institutions and ultimately supports those institutions' retail and small business customers with a highly configurable electronic payments platform.  

Kevin Williams, CFO of Jack Henry & Associates, said, "This acquisition, which represents our largest to-date, expands our presence and potential in the growing payments industry with a highly competitive online bill pay solution that complements our existing offering and increases our transaction-based and recurring revenues.  We expect that our combined capabilities and resources will allow us to further enhance and expand the best-of-breed products and services that iPay's customers and partners receive today while further strengthening our electronic payments offering."

Financial Technology Partners and FTP Securities (together "FT Partners") served as sole capital markets advisor to Jack Henry in this Transaction.  Jack Henry & Associates was advised by Wells Fargo Securities and the law firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP.  William Blair & Company served as iPay's financial advisor in the transaction, and Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP provided legal counsel to iPay.

About Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY) is a leading provider of computer systems and ATM/debit card/ACH transaction processing services primarily for financial services organizations.  Its technology solutions serve more than 11,800 customers nationwide, and are marketed and supported through three primary brands.  Jack Henry Banking™ supports banks ranging from de novo to mid-tier institutions with information processing solutions.  Symitar™ is the leading provider of information processing solutions for credit unions of all sizes.  ProfitStars® provides highly specialized products and services that enable financial institutions of every asset size and charter, and diverse corporate entities to mitigate and control risks, optimize revenue and growth opportunities, and contain costs.  Additional information is available at www.jackhenry.com.

SOURCE Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.

Jack Henry & Associates and iPay Technologies Complete Acquisition Transaction

Acquisition of the Largest Independent U.S. Electronic Bill Pay Provider Continues Jack Henry & Associates' Strategic Expansion

MONETT, Mo., June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY), a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, today announced that it has closed the transaction initiated to acquire iPay Technologies, the largest independent electronic bill pay provider in the United States.  As a result of the acquisition, which was subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, iPay Technologies became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jack Henry & Associates.  Under the terms of the agreement, Jack Henry & Associates purchased all of the equity of iPay for a purchase price of approximately $300 million in cash.

Through strategic partnerships with more than 50 providers of information processing and online banking solutions, iPay's turnkey online bill pay services, technology, and expertise are supporting more than 3,600 banks and credit unions.  iPay partners with companies like Jack Henry & Associates to provide online bill payment solutions to financial institutions and ultimately supports those institutions' retail and small business customers with a highly configurable electronic payments platform.  

Kevin Williams, CFO of Jack Henry & Associates, said, "This acquisition, which represents our largest to-date, expands our presence and potential in the growing payments industry with a highly competitive online bill pay solution that complements our existing offering and increases our transaction-based and recurring revenues.  We expect that our combined capabilities and resources will allow us to further enhance and expand the best-of-breed products and services that iPay's customers and partners receive today while further strengthening our electronic payments offering."

Financial Technology Partners and FTP Securities (together "FT Partners") served as sole capital markets advisor to Jack Henry in this Transaction.  Jack Henry & Associates was advised by Wells Fargo Securities and the law firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP.  William Blair & Company served as iPay's financial advisor in the transaction, and Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP provided legal counsel to iPay.

About Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY) is a leading provider of computer systems and ATM/debit card/ACH transaction processing services primarily for financial services organizations.  Its technology solutions serve more than 11,800 customers nationwide, and are marketed and supported through three primary brands.  Jack Henry Banking™ supports banks ranging from de novo to mid-tier institutions with information processing solutions.  Symitar™ is the leading provider of information processing solutions for credit unions of all sizes.  ProfitStars® provides highly specialized products and services that enable financial institutions of every asset size and charter, and diverse corporate entities to mitigate and control risks, optimize revenue and growth opportunities, and contain costs.  Additional information is available at www.jackhenry.com.

SOURCE Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.

Paymetric Adds Another Industry Veteran to Management Team

Stephen Wecksler Named Vice President of Business Development

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paymetric, Inc., the leading provider of integrated and secure enterprise payment acceptance solutions, today announced it has hired Stephen Wecksler as the company’s new vice president of business development.

“His proven experience in the financial industry strongly positions us as true leaders during this exciting time in our company’s growth. Steve has jumped on board with great enthusiasm and I am confident his extensive knowledge of channel sales and seasoned customer relations will prove most lucrative.”

Wecksler joins the Paymetric team with more than ten years experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, Wecksler served as executive vice president of FirstView LLC, a prepaid debit card and e-billing solutions provider in Marietta, GA. Previously, Wecksler held various positions selling, supporting and implementing nationwide retail prepaid long distance card programs during a five year tenure at MCI/Worldcom. He also spent six years in the Change Management Practice at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and led business development activities for the RBS WorldPay Prepaid and Loyalty Sales Team.

"We are very excited to add Steve to the Paymetric team," said Larry Wine, Chief Executive Officer for Paymetric. "His proven experience in the financial industry strongly positions us as true leaders during this exciting time in our company’s growth. Steve has jumped on board with great enthusiasm and I am confident his extensive knowledge of channel sales and seasoned customer relations will prove most lucrative."

Steve earned his B.A. degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Alabama.

ABOUT PAYMETRIC

Paymetric, Inc. is the leading provider of integrated and secure enterprise payment acceptance solutions that enable companies to streamline the order-to-cash process, reduce the scope and financial burden of achieving PCI compliance and improve return on electronic payment acceptance. Paymetric’s solutions support virtually every type of electronic payment in any enterprise system where payment is accepted. Paymetric is recognized as an industry leader and is a three-time award-winning SAP certified partner. For additional information visit www.paymetric.com, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/Paymetric or visit our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Paymetric.

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Paymetric Adds Another Industry Veteran to Management Team

Stephen Wecksler Named Vice President of Business Development

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paymetric, Inc., the leading provider of integrated and secure enterprise payment acceptance solutions, today announced it has hired Stephen Wecksler as the company’s new vice president of business development.

“His proven experience in the financial industry strongly positions us as true leaders during this exciting time in our company’s growth. Steve has jumped on board with great enthusiasm and I am confident his extensive knowledge of channel sales and seasoned customer relations will prove most lucrative.”

Wecksler joins the Paymetric team with more than ten years experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, Wecksler served as executive vice president of FirstView LLC, a prepaid debit card and e-billing solutions provider in Marietta, GA. Previously, Wecksler held various positions selling, supporting and implementing nationwide retail prepaid long distance card programs during a five year tenure at MCI/Worldcom. He also spent six years in the Change Management Practice at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and led business development activities for the RBS WorldPay Prepaid and Loyalty Sales Team.

"We are very excited to add Steve to the Paymetric team," said Larry Wine, Chief Executive Officer for Paymetric. "His proven experience in the financial industry strongly positions us as true leaders during this exciting time in our company’s growth. Steve has jumped on board with great enthusiasm and I am confident his extensive knowledge of channel sales and seasoned customer relations will prove most lucrative."

Steve earned his B.A. degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Alabama.

ABOUT PAYMETRIC

Paymetric, Inc. is the leading provider of integrated and secure enterprise payment acceptance solutions that enable companies to streamline the order-to-cash process, reduce the scope and financial burden of achieving PCI compliance and improve return on electronic payment acceptance. Paymetric’s solutions support virtually every type of electronic payment in any enterprise system where payment is accepted. Paymetric is recognized as an industry leader and is a three-time award-winning SAP certified partner. For additional information visit www.paymetric.com, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/Paymetric or visit our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Paymetric.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Paymetric Adds to Executive Team During Period of Strategic Growth (eon.businesswire.com)